Frozen Time
by Ken
Summary: The Sailor Senshi must hunt down a runaway Daimon


This story takes place between the Sailor Moon S series and the  
Sailor Moon Supers series. It contains some spoilers for anyone  
who has not seen up to the end of the Sailor Moon S series. It  
is based on characters created by Takeuchi Naoko. The usual  
fanfic disclaimers apply.  
  
  
  
This is my second attempt at SM fanfic. It has no relation  
(other than one rather vague reference) to my first, "The Four  
Horsemen."  
  
  
  
Ken Wolfe ken_wolfe@mbnet.mb.ca  
  
  
  
  
  
Frozen Time  
  
  
  
  
  
The little tanuki was parched, famished, exhausted, frightened,  
and utterly, utterly lost.  
  
She had been roaming across this alien landscape for days now,  
encountering horrors in abundance but precious little  
sustenance. No sooner would she find a place that looked  
relatively safe than she would be found, chased out and forced  
to run once more through this desolate, hellish maze.  
  
Her home was a quiet mountain forest, where she had been  
raising her children in relative peace. The tanuki, which some  
might call a badger or a raccoon dog, had encountered the two  
legged ones before, and knew well enough to avoid them. She  
was, however, not yet familiar enough with their habits to  
associate them with the gleaming, boxy objects they rode in.   
When she came across the parked vehicle, all that was on her  
mind was what she could smell inside. An open window was all  
the invitation she needed to crawl inside and rummage through  
the piles of strange objects in the back, looking for the food  
she smelled.  
  
She had barely found it down near the bottom of the rubble when  
she heard them approach. She instinctively froze. The vehicle  
lurched as they entered it. She could not see them from down  
where she was, but there was no mistaking the incessant  
chattering of the two legged ones. There was suddenly an even  
more horrific noise, and the whole world started to shake. She  
was old enough to have felt earthquakes, but this was utterly  
different, it just went on and on until she lost track of time.   
Daring only to peek out on occasion, she could see the world  
whizzing by at a dizzying pace.  
  
An eternity later, it stopped. When the rear of the vehicle  
suddenly swung away, she darted out between the startled,  
screaming two legged ones and ran as fast as she could. Ran  
straight into the heart of Tokyo.  
  
It was twilight, and now she wandered through the ruins of a  
toppled building, an area the two legged ones seemed to be  
giving a wide berth. She had hoped to find another of the ever  
so tiny green growing places that dotted the grey desolation,  
but she would have to stay here for the night. Facing the flat  
grey expanses at night, dodging the gleaming boxes with their  
horrible noise and smell and eyes like blinding sunlight was  
more than the terrified animal could bear. And the streets held  
so many of the two legged ones, so very many...  
  
She was surprised to come across a small lake. She did not  
understand the idea of a circle, but noted its odd, regular  
shape. She thankfully slaked her thirst, then went back to the  
ruins to find a hiding place.  
  
She smelled something. Food, possibly. She crawled under a  
twisted, shattered school desk to find... an egg? It looked  
something like an egg, but the smell was wrong. She took it in  
her mouth, tried to break it. It wouldn't crack. Driven by  
desperate hunger, she set it firmly between her jaws and clamped  
down as hard as she could. Harder. She whined with the effort.  
  
Her teeth slipped, and it went down whole. It almost choked  
her, but she managed to swallow it. The pain as it went down  
was excruciating. Exhausted and no less hungry, she curled up  
and was soon asleep.  
  
Her body heat and stomach acids penetrated the daimon egg,  
snapping it out of its dormant state. It did what it was  
designed to do: it took control of the object it found itself  
embedded within, reshaped it, made the object its own. But it  
encountered resistance: this object already had a life force of  
its own, one that fought tenaciously to keep its life for  
itself. The daimon egg was nothing if not flexible: it merged  
its own essence with that of the object, merged its own  
consciousness with that of the object. It translated the fear  
and hunger and hatred it found into a single directive: find the  
heart. Hunt down the two legged one and find its heart. Feed  
on it.  
  
The daimon stood up on its hind legs, effortlessly pushing  
aside the twisted desk and the rubble that was piled on top of  
it. The world seemed much smaller now. No longer afraid, it  
strode out into the night.  
  
  
  
  
  
Growling with frustration, Makoto tossed aside what may once  
have been part of a blackboard, and glared at her companion.   
"Ami, give it up. We've picked this place clean."  
  
Ami still stared at her computer. It looked like a palmtop  
organizer, but was really a piece of Silver Millennium  
technology that had more computing power than all the PCs in  
Tokyo put together. She shook her head. "I could have sworn  
that yesterday I picked up readings around here."  
  
"Well, you're not picking up anything now, are you?"  
  
Ami sighed and folded down the computer screen. "Well, maybe  
they lose their potency if they're left untended for a while."  
  
Makoto sat down to take a rest. The early morning sun had  
cleared the mist from the ruins of the Mugen school. So there  
was enough light for them to look for daimon eggs. They had  
been doing this off and on over the past few days. Ever since a  
daimon had emerged from the ruins of the Death Busters' base and  
nearly claimed their lives. They had found a few eggs, and  
destroyed them. They had even found a few artifacts of Death  
Busters' technology which Ami had insisted upon taking for  
study. Makoto thought it was too dangerous, but Ami seemed to  
know what she was doing, so she let it slide.  
  
The powers that be were making a production of downplaying the  
destruction of the school and surrounding area. A sinkhole,  
clearly. A flaw in the foundation of the building, just waiting  
for an earth tremor to trigger its collapse. Couldn't have been  
foreseen, nobody at fault. And rumours of selective amnesia  
among the students were to be discounted. Perfectly natural  
reaction to such a trauma. Nothing unusual.  
  
No Weird Shit going on here. Nothing to see, move along.  
  
The authorities, wanting to appear nonchalant, had abandoned  
the site after a cursory investigation. The locals, who knew  
better, steered clear of the ruins. And it appeared that the  
government was having trouble finding contractors willing to  
submit bids for clearing the rubble. So the girls had the run  
of the place. Usually under the direction of Ami's scanners,  
Rei's divination, or Usagi's just plain good luck, they had   
taken turns rummaging through the ruins, making sure there were  
no more unpleasant surprises waiting to spring upon them.  
  
Last night, Ami had picked up what she thought might be a  
daimon reading in this particular area. But it was getting too  
dark and they had to give up the search. Now it appeared to be  
gone.  
  
After a while, Makoto stood up again. "Well, maybe I'll make  
one more sweep around the crater, see if anything's floated up."  
  
"Not likely, anything inside the radius would have been  
pulverized," Ami said from where she sat.  
  
"Well, I'm tired of picking through garbage. Feel free to  
leave without me, you've got a longer trip than me if you want  
to go home and change before class."  
  
Ami smiled. "Okay, I'll do one more scan and if nothing turns  
up I'll go. Thank you, Makoto. As usual, you've done more than  
your share."  
  
"Better believe it. Bye." Makoto picked her way through the  
rubble and stepped into the clearer area that surrounded the  
crater. She shuddered as she looked out over the placid water  
that filled it. It still felt like looking at Loch Ness. Only  
worse, because she knew full well the horrors that had almost  
been unleashed upon the world from this spot. The horrors that  
the four senshi had laboured to contain while Sailor Moon and  
Sailor Saturn made their desperate bid to seal off the gateway  
the Death Busters had opened. The gateway had been sealed... at  
a cost. But what had passed through? What lay in wait?  
  
Makoto shook her head, turned right and started her walk around  
the crater. There's enough to be scared of without making up  
things.  
  
Intent upon watching the water, she was taken unaware by the  
sudden noise and the movement at the periphery of her vision.   
Her heart leaped and she spun around to face... huh?  
  
A gaijin stood looking at her. It was a young man, a caucasian  
dressed in a grey jacket with lots of pockets and zippers, loose  
casual jeans and an incongruous sun hat. He'd just stepped down  
from a fallen wall fragment he'd been standing on, knocking  
loose some of the crumbled concrete in the process. The  
movement and sound had just been him stepping down and the  
little pieces of concrete hitting the ground.   
  
Makoto remembered to breathe again.  
  
In accented but fluent Japanese, the man casually said, "Miss,  
are you planning to cast a spell on me or something?"  
  
Makoto suddenly realized that she had instinctively brought her  
arms up crossed before her, second and fifth fingers extended,  
ready to call up a defensive shield or to launch the Supreme  
Thunder. Suddenly feeling very embarrassed, she lowered her  
guard. "Uh... sorry, you just startled me, that's all."  
  
"I'm sorry about that. You really looked like you were  
expecting a monster to rise out of the lake, though."  
  
You don't know the half of it, she thought. "Yeah, well, what  
happened here was kind of spooky, the place gives me the creeps  
now."  
  
"So why are you here?"  
  
Oops. Better think of something. "Well, you see, I was taking  
a course here and... and we all had to run out of here so  
quickly when it started to collapse, I left some... mementos  
behind. They're kind of important to me, I was hoping to find  
them."  
  
"And you were expecting them to rise out of the water?"  
  
"Well, I've pretty much given up, I was just... sort of saying  
good bye, you know?"  
  
"Sure." He had come closer now. He looked younger than what  
she had first thought... and not bad looking either, a round  
naturally cheerful face and stocky build, just a shave shorter  
than her. "Where are my manners? I'm Jeff Clarke from San  
Francisco, pleased to meet you." he said, extending his hand.  
  
"Kino Makoto, pleased to meet you." Makoto said, shaking his  
hand.  
  
"Ah, your name means 'truth,' that's very encouraging." Makoto  
raised an eyebrow at this odd remark, and he laughed.   
"Everything else around here seems to be a pack of lies."  
  
"What do you mean?" Makoto asked, very confused.  
  
"Well, just look at this place," Jeff said, spreading his arms  
and looking around. "You must have read the crap in the papers.  
A sinkhole collapsed by an earth tremor? A broken gas pipe?   
Hell, the place looks like ground zero! You were here, you must  
have seen with your own eyes, this was more than just a  
collapsing building."  
  
Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable, Makoto wanted to turn the  
conversation away from her. "So what's your interest in this  
place?"  
  
"Me? I'm a sort of amateur debunker, or skeptic, if you will.   
I like to find the truth behind so called evidence of ghosts,  
psychics, abductions, that sort of thing. I've never published  
or anything, except on the internet, it's just a sort of on  
again off again hobby. Since I've been in Japan I've been  
meaning to visit this neighbourhood, it's gained a reputation as  
a sort of Bermuda Triangle of the East."  
  
Wanting to steer the conversation even further away, Makoto  
abruptly asked, "So how long have you been in Japan?"  
  
"About a year. I've been here before, but it's my first  
extended stay. I've been taking more advanced language  
instruction than I could get back home, in preparation for  
entering a University here. In fact I just finished my entrance  
exams, now I'm just working part time while I await the results."  
  
"Really? Well, I wish you the best of luck," Makoto said,  
hoping she could break away at this point.  
  
"Thanks. Listen, I hate to be a nuisance but I'd really like  
to hear more about your experience here. Maybe we can get to  
the bottom of it if we put our heads together. Can I treat you  
to lunch?"  
  
This really took Makoto off guard, but luckily she had a ready  
excuse. "I have classes today, I'll be having lunch at my  
school."  
  
"Dinner then? I saw a Thai restaurant two blocks from here on  
the way from the station, I've been dying to try genuine Thai."  
  
Makoto knew the place. Agreeing was probably the easiest way  
to get him out of this place. She and her friends had most  
likely cleared the area of anything dangerous, but if this guy  
didn't get his dinner date he might just start poking around  
here and she just didn't like that idea. Well, it couldn't be  
helped. "Uh... sure. I could make it for seven, is that okay?"  
  
"Great! Thanks ever so much, it's nice of you to indulge me.   
You're probably starting classes soon, so I won't delay you any  
more. See you tonight," he said.  
  
"Okay, see you later," Makoto said, and watched him leave.   
Were all Americans so pushy? But that was unfair, he really  
hadn't been aggressive at all, he just seemed genuinely  
interested in what had happened here. So now just what the  
*hell* was she going to tell him?  
  
  
  
  
  
The bus dropped Makoto off just a couple of blocks from the  
restaurant. She straightened out the simple green dress she  
wore, making sure those damned bus seats hadn't creased it. She  
wanted to look casual, not slovenly. As she walked, she tried  
to convince herself that she had made the right decision. She  
had considered just not showing up, hoping he would just go away  
mad and not come back. But even at their brief meeting Jeff  
didn't strike her as a quitter. She would have to give him  
something before he was satisfied, even if it was a cock and  
bull story.  
  
Besides, it was a free dinner at a nice place, so she could  
hardly complain.  
  
He was waiting in front of the restaurant, twirling around his  
closed umbrella playfully. He was now in a dark sport jacket  
and plain open collar shirt. It looked good on him, she  
thought. As did the closely cut sandy hair that his sun hat had  
hidden this morning. He smiled as he saw her approach. "Hello.  
You look great, Makoto-san."  
  
"Thank you. I hope you thought to make reservations, because I  
didn't." She was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Jeff seemed to  
suddenly be treating this like a date.  
  
"Of course." They went in, got their table and ordered. Jeff  
seemed to want to know everything about her, he was full of  
questions. He was very surprised and impressed to hear that she  
had been managing on her own for quite a long time, after she  
had lost her parents. When she started telling Jeff about the  
various sorts of traditional Japanese cooking she did as a  
hobby, he surprised her with his own knowledge of the subject.   
Apparently, one of his language instructors had also been giving  
him cooking lessons, and he had taken to it very nicely. He  
claimed his main interest in Japanese cuisine was to gain the  
benefits that gave the Japanese the longest lifespan in the  
world, which struck Makoto as a rather odd reason to take up  
cooking.  
  
Their meals arrived, and this seemed to be the cue to move on  
to the main subject at hand. Makoto had been debating with  
herself all day over how to handle this. Obviously she could  
not tell him the whole truth. She decided to tell it from the  
point of view of one of the students... or rather, one of the  
students who didn't know what was really going on. That  
wouldn't be too hard. She knew some of the girls who had  
entered the school, and had talked to them since the incident.   
From that first hand testimony, she could concoct a plausible  
story.  
  
The days before the explosion were very fuzzy, so her story  
went. She vaguely remembered feeling tired and ill. She had  
passed it off as simply the stress of the upcoming entrance  
exams. But it got to the point where she felt like a zombie,  
going through the motions of life, without really being  
conscious. That had all ended abruptly during one of the  
endless computer based mock exams, when everything had happened  
all at once. From that point, time had extended to reveal  
everything with the clarity of slow motion. The earthquake came  
first, with the panicked mob stumbling over the shaking ground,  
dodging falling debris, desperate to escape. Somehow she got  
clear of the building. Then the explosions started, massive  
fireballs billowing out from all parts of the building. Behind  
the billowing smoke, she could hear the building collapse. Then  
they had all just ran, as far and as fast as they could, far  
beyond the need of safety, as if desperate to distance  
themselves from the place. She had run herself to exhaustion,  
staggered the rest of the way home, and collapsed. As to the  
really weird stuff that was supposed to have happened there the  
following day, well, she had been nowhere near and didn't know  
anybody who was.  
  
Jeff listened intently to her story, then looked very  
thoughtful. "Well, it almost sounds like a coincidence of  
events. A slow gas leak of some sort that makes everybody sick,  
which builds up just in time for an earth tremor to collapse a  
flaw in the foundation. In the process, something ignites the  
gas. Quite a fluke, to say the least. What do you think?"  
  
Makoto shrugged. "It's as good as any theory I've heard."   
Please, Jeff, fall in love with your theory, accept it. You  
really don't want to know the truth.  
  
"They didn't let anybody into the area for a day after the  
explosion," Jeff continued. "It would be pretty sad if that's  
all it was, just to let somebody sneak in and cover evidence of  
a gas leak in the Mugen school, make it appear like the leak was  
in one of the older buildings nearby."  
  
"Somebody high up in the city administration covering his fat  
backside," Makoto said encouragingly. In fact, evacuate and  
wait had been the authorities' SOP ever since the transformation  
and destruction of the Star Light Tower, the first really  
serious piece of Weird Shit to hit the neighbourhood. Just get  
people out of there, let it sort itself out, and then find some  
way to explain it away. Couldn't let people know there were  
aliens and extradimensional demons wandering about.  
  
Jeff nodded. "And as for what happened the day after... well,  
anyone could claim they sneaked in past the barricades or were  
left behind during the evacuation, and then make up any story  
they want. There were even reported sightings of the Pretty  
Sailor Senshi."  
  
Makoto's heart skipped a beat. "You mean you've heard of them?"  
  
Jeff laughed. "Urban legend turned media phenomenon, living in  
Tokyo it's pretty hard to miss. Of course, from what I hear, in  
Minato-ku you can hardly have a lost kitten turn up without  
somebody saying it was the Sailor Senshi who found it."  
  
"That's true enough," Makoto said, relaxing. She had forgotten  
she was talking to a damned proud of it skeptic.  
  
"That reminds me, I noticed there's going to be a Sailor V  
revival in Shinjuku next week, have you ever seen it?"  
  
Makoto blinked. "You've heard of that movie?"  
  
"Surprised?"  
  
"I guess so. Most gaijin... sorry, most foreigners know who  
Gojira is, but I didn't think Sailor V was popular outside  
Japan."  
  
"It's not widely known, but it has a cult following. I got the  
laser disk as soon as it was out, so did a lot of other  
collectors in the US. It's an even bigger phenomenon in  
England, you know. When I went to London for a SF convention  
they actually showed it in 35mm film! There were all sorts of  
fanzines, there were even those dreadful sightings 'zines that  
talk about crop circles and such, they were reporting sightings  
of Sailor V and assorted demons in London."  
  
"I never would have thought," Makoto said, though she could  
well imagine why Sailor V was such a hit in London. "I saw it  
on opening night here, I had to stand in line all day to get  
that ticket."  
  
"Ah, a fellow fan, I knew it! Well, hopefully we won't have to  
wait in line this time," Jeff said, smiling.  
  
I guess that means we're going, Makoto thought.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey baby, where you been all my life?"  
  
When Makoto heard that coming in through her open window from  
the alley below, two thoughts came to mind. First, that was  
just about the most coherent, eloquent and original statement  
she had heard one of those two hoods utter since they had  
started hanging around the street corner under her window.   
Second, she wondered what girl would be dumb enough to be taking  
a shortcut through the alleys in this neighborhood alone after  
dark.  
  
Presently she heard a woman's footfalls approach her apartment,  
and there was a knock on her door. Well, I guess I'm about to  
find out, Makoto thought as she got up from her bed, where she'd  
just been lying down daydreaming. She walked over and opened  
the door. "Ami! What are you doing here?"  
  
Ami looked very nervous. She clutched her school bag tightly  
to her. "I'm sorry to bother you this late, but can we talk?"  
  
"Of course, come on in," Makoto said. "Ami, you really look  
spooked, is something wrong?"  
  
"Yes, I think something is very wrong," Ami had taken off her  
shoes and was walking over to the low table. "I need to show  
you something." She sat down on the tatami mats, next to the  
table, and started pulling papers out of the bag.  
  
Makoto sat down beside her and looked at the paper that Ami  
handed her. As she read, it became apparent that it was a  
transcript of a police report from a crime scene... a murder  
scene. These were transmissions that police made from computer  
terminals in their cruisers. Ami was not supposed to have them.  
Naturally the transmissions were encrypted, but to a Silver  
Millennium quantum computer with nearly infinite processing  
power, such encryption was little more than a curtain to be  
drawn aside. As she read further, the comments from the police  
became less clinical and more unrestrained. We've got more  
Weird Shit here. Another case for the spooks, they'll no doubt  
be taking this ones off our hands too. Good riddance, they can  
have it. Couldn't pay me enough to hunt down whatever did this.  
The time stamps on the messages put them at just a few days  
ago, about when she had first met Jeff. She looked up at Ami.  
"Where did you get this?"  
  
"I hacked into the police archives network earlier today.   
Don't worry, they can't trace me. There are five more cases,  
all pretty similar."  
  
"What do you mean similar?"  
  
Ami handed her a black and white facsimile picture. Makoto  
looked at it, then dropped it as if it were on fire. "My God!"   
It was a picture of one of the murder victims, a young man.   
Something had sliced him open from chin to crotch, and then had  
literally pried open his ribcage. The whole area was covered in  
blood.  
  
Makoto held her head in her hands for a few moments and  
breathed in gasps, waiting for the nausea to pass. Ami was  
gently stroking her back. "I'm sorry Makoto, I should have said  
something to prepare you for that. I wasn't thinking."  
  
"I'll be okay. Who the hell could have done that? Were they  
all like that?"  
  
"Yes. They all had their hearts removed."  
  
"Their *hearts*?"  
  
"The coroners' reports said it looked like some large animal  
had literally eaten their hearts while they were still beating."  
  
Makoto shivered and turned away. Then something clicked.   
Hearts. Eating living hearts. She swung around to face Ami  
again. "A daimon! It's got to be a daimon!"  
  
Ami nodded. "It fits. The first victim was found near the  
school. The very next morning I couldn't find that daimon  
reading anymore."  
  
"It fits, but no daimon ever did... *this*! Why all of a  
sudden?"  
  
Ami shook her head. "Who knows. Maybe without the Death  
Busters to guide it, without them to extract a heart crystal for  
it to consume, the daimon is just acting on instinct."  
  
Makoto's eyes settled on another of the fax pictures, a map.   
She looked closer at it, and gasped. "Ami, the last of these  
was just a few streets from your place!"  
  
"Yes, I saw the police line on the way home. That's what got  
me prying into the police network."  
  
Makoto suddenly understood. "And that's why you came here."  
  
Ami looked down, obviously very uncomfortable. "My mother is  
away on a conference. I just suddenly felt... very alone."  
  
Makoto surprised her friend by suddenly embracing her and  
holding her tightly. "Silly girl. Why didn't you call me? I'd  
have come over. And coming here all alone at this hour... this  
part of the neighbourhood isn't what it used to be, and that  
thing is still out there."  
  
Ami returned her embrace. "I'm sorry. I didn't think I could  
explain, just over the phone, why I was..." her voice trailed  
off.  
  
Makoto slid back to look at Ami. "It's okay to admit you're  
scared."  
  
But Ami smiled at her. "I'm not really scared any more. But I  
still feel silly, just barging in like this. I've already been  
a burden, I should get back home."  
  
"Don't even think about it. You're sleeping here tonight. No  
argument. You can wear one of my pyjamas."  
  
"They won't fit."  
  
"Then you can sleep in the raw!" Makoto said, exasperated.  
  
Ami blushed and averted her eyes. Then she smiled again. "I  
guess you're right. It's hard for me to admit that, sometimes,  
I'd rather not be on my own. Even now, after we've become such  
good friends."  
  
Makoto squeezed her hand. "Well that makes two of us. The  
habits of a loner are hard to break. Believe me, I know. Come  
on, we'll get your futon set up."  
  
It really was getting late, so in just a few minutes they had  
settled in for the night. Ami stared up at the ceiling of the  
darkened room. "I guess we'll have to tell the others tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to that."  
  
"I've been thinking, we should get Rei to do a reading on this,  
so we'll have to fill her in. But when we tell Usagi and  
Minako..."  
  
"We can gloss over the gory details," Makoto interrupted. "No  
sense upsetting them more than necessary."  
  
Ami was silent for a while. "Makoto, is that man you met at  
the ruins still asking about the Mugen school incident?"  
  
"Jeff? No, he seems to have lost interest. He came up with a  
theory that he liked."  
  
"That's good, considering."  
  
"Oh, I see. No, he's not about to start poking around there in  
the middle of the night. In a way I'm glad the police are  
keeping these murders a secret. It would be real X Files stuff,  
right up his alley."  
  
"Really? It sounds like you're getting to know him quite well."  
  
"Good night, Ami."  
  
  
  
  
  
"A tanuki?" Minako asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes, that's what it looks like," Rei replied. She had just  
come back from doing her reading at the shrine, having said she  
wished to do this reading alone. She and her friends were now  
sitting around a low table in the temple residence. Thought it  
wasn't cold enough to be using the space heaters, the sliding  
doors were all shut against the cool of the evening.  
  
"But they're such cute little things!" Usagi protested.   
"They'd never hurt anyone!"  
  
You didn't see the pictures, Rei thought. But she wouldn't say  
that. She had promised Ami. "It's been changed almost beyond  
recognition. If Ami's right about it being a daimon, then the  
daimon egg must have merged with a tanuki."  
  
Usagi turned to Ami. "So what can we do? Can we find it?"  
  
Ami shook her head. "I don't think we can easily detect it.   
Ever since that daimon we fought in the ruins, I've had the  
scanners on the computer sweeping for any activity. I had the  
sensitivity turned up so high I was getting false alarms from  
background life signs. But even though there was an attack just  
a little ways from my place, there was no reading out of the  
ordinary. It's as if merging with a terrestrial animal has sort  
of... cloaked it."  
  
"That's bad," Artemis said. He was sitting on the table next  
to where Minako sat, but now he got up and started pacing the  
table, a sure sign to everyone that he was really worried. For  
a cat, even a lunar one, he could display remarkably expressive  
body language. "It seems to be attacking people at random, so  
we can't track it and we can't predict it's movements either."  
  
"Maybe if we could figure out where it's hiding during the day,  
and how it's moving around," Luna suggested. She remained  
seated on the table near Usagi, but she too looked troubled.   
"But it's moving over such a wide area, it seems hopeless.   
Where would we even start?"  
  
"We could bait it." Makoto said. The others all turned to her.  
"It's doing this because it can't find a heart crystal. Let's  
give it one."  
  
"But how do we do that?" Usagi asked.  
  
Makoto looked over at Ami and was about to speak, but Ami was  
already shaking her head. "No. Even if I thought we could do  
it safely, even if one of us volunteered, I won't turn one of  
those Death Buster weapons on another person. Not ever."  
  
"I agree with Ami," Minako said. "There must be some other  
way."  
  
"Maybe just discharging one of those guns would attract it,"  
Rei suggested. "It's probably attuned to the kind of energy the  
weapons use."  
  
"I'm really nervous about using those machines at all," Luna  
said. "We were lucky to get some technical files out of the  
ruins, but we barely understand how they work."  
  
"Well, you have to admit we barely understand how our own  
devices work," Ami said, waving her computer as an example. "I'm  
sure I've hardly scratched the surface of what this thing we  
naively call a 'computer' can really do. Those guns seem to be  
designed to be used by people who have only a minimal knowledge  
of how they work, they're full of fail safes."  
  
"Do you actually have one of those guns working?" Artemis asked.  
  
"Not yet, they were all at least slightly damaged. I've got  
the most promising one in the shed at the back of the temple  
grounds here, stripped and cleaned. Rei gave me the key to the  
place."  
  
"And I have the only other key," Rei added. "Usually it's  
pretty much just my own work space, I told Grandpa I'm lending  
it to Ami for a class project."  
  
"Well, right now we don't seem to have a lot of options," Luna  
said. "I guess it can't hurt to try to get one of them working.  
But please be careful, Ami. If you're not sure it's safe then  
just don't go any farther, we'll think of something else."  
  
"Okay, Luna. Makoto, could you come over here tomorrow night  
and give me a hand with it? It's going to require some delicate  
work and you have steadier hands than I do."  
  
"Sure, sure," Makoto teased, "You just want somebody to massage  
your shoulders while you're hunched over those infernal  
machines."  
  
"Well, if you're offering..."  
  
"I'll be there, just show me what to do," Makoto said, showing  
with a warm smile that she had just been kidding.  
  
"I'm surprised you have the time, Mako-chan," Usagi said slyly,  
"I thought you were too busy going out with your new boyfriend  
these days."  
  
"Usagi, your timing sucks," Rei chided.  
  
Actually her timing is perfect, Makoto thought, I was hoping to  
change the subject away from the daimon business for a while.   
"Well, it's not like I'm seeing Jeff every night, you know,  
we've gone out just a couple of times."  
  
"So tell us about him," Usagi said, crossing her arms on the  
table and laying her chin down on them, child-like expectation  
in her eyes. "He's a gaijin, right? Does he at least speak  
Japanese?"  
  
"He's an American, and yes of course he can speak Japanese, do  
you think my English is good enough to be dating a guy who  
can't?"  
  
"So what does he talk about?" Usagi asked eagerly.  
  
"Well, lately we've been talking about philosophy."  
  
"What?" Usagi looked crestfallen. "You're not dating an  
egghead, are you?"  
  
"Does he plan to study philosophy in college?" Ami asked.  
  
"No, he actually wants to study engineering, but he's been  
interested in something called Extropian philosophy for a couple  
of years now."  
  
"Sounds like a rare disease..." Usagi said, sounding even more  
dejected.  
  
" 'Extropy' is the opposite of entropy, right?" Ami asked,  
ignoring Usagi's whining.  
  
"Yes. It's meant to express what life does, building  
spontaneous order out of chaos. Like evolution making more and  
more complex living things, such as us."  
  
"But what sort of a philosophy is it?" Ami asked, looking  
fascinated and also relieved at having a diversion from the grim  
business of hunting daimon.  
  
"It's mostly a way of looking at science and technology, I  
think. Extropians want to advance technology so that it becomes  
part of us instead of just tools we pick up and use. They want  
to merge people with technology."  
  
"You mean that literally?" Rei asked. "Like replacing our  
bodies with machines?" She sounded more than a little revolted  
by the idea.  
  
"Well, it sounds a bit different the way Jeff describes it, he  
calls it becoming transhuman. It's going beyond the human  
condition, so that you can live longer, be smarter and do more  
things. It's all long term though, he doesn't expect much of  
that to happen for many years."  
  
"Still, it sounds kind of scary," Minako said. "I mean, what  
would a transhuman look like anyway?"  
  
"Maybe something like a sailor senshi," Ami said. The blank  
stares she got begged further explanation. "Well, think about  
it, we use devices from the Silver Millennium to transform us  
into something that is stronger than a human and can do things a  
human can't. Isn't that like the transhuman that Makoto's  
talking about?"  
  
"But Ami, that's *magic*, not technology." Rei protested.  
  
"Have you ever heard Clarke's Law?" Ami asked.  
  
"No, but I'm sure I'm about to," Rei said with a crooked smile.  
  
"Arthur C. Clarke once said..."  
  
"Who?" Minako interrupted.  
  
"He wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey," Makoto said. "We rented the  
movie once, remember?"  
  
"Oh right! The one where a flying bone turns into a spaceship  
or something."  
  
Ami sighed. "Anyway, Clarke's Law says that any sufficiently  
advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In other  
words, there really is no difference."  
  
"I still think magic is different though," Minako protested.   
"Luna, you probably remember most about the Silver Millennium,  
did they use science or magic?"  
  
Luna did the best approximation to a shrug that a cat could  
manage. "I'd have to agree with this Clarke fellow, it probably  
doesn't matter what you call it. They made devices that  
harnessed various sorts of energy, and then they learned how to  
use the devices to do things. What would you call that?"  
  
"I'd call it boring," Usagi said, suddenly lifting her head up  
off the table. "Makoto, because we decided that we shoudn't get  
Chibi-Usa involved in this daimon hunt, I had to *persuade*  
Mamoru to take her out to a concert tonight where I am sure she  
is having a *marvellous* time with him." She looked Makoto  
squarely in the eyes, with comically exaggerated seriousness.   
"I deserve some compensation. Information. You can at least  
answer this: what does your new boyfriend look like?"  
  
"Well, he looks nothing at all like my first boyfriend..."  
Makoto assured her.  
  
"We figured that one out already, Mako-chan," Rei interjected.  
  
"...but he does dress a lot like him."  
  
There was a collective groan. Rei lowered her head down onto  
the table. "God, I think I'm gonna hurl..."  
  
  
  
  
  
Makoto was just about to give up and hang up when she finally  
heard somebody pick up the phone. A familiar voice said "Hello?"  
  
"Hi Jeff, it's me."  
  
"Makoto-san! How's it going?"  
  
"Sorry for being such a stranger lately, I've been tied up with  
school work." Actually it had been only three days since they  
last met, and she had spent much of that time helping Ami with  
the Death Busters machines. They had made good progress, and  
Makoto was eager to reward herself with a change of pace. "It  
turns out I'll be free today, I thought we could go out  
somewhere."  
  
"Actually, I was on my way out, I'm... visiting a friend."  
  
"Oh. Gee, you've never really talked about your other friends  
here in Japan, is this somebody from your language school?"  
  
"Uh, well no." Jeff seemed suddenly evasive. "It's somebody  
who's been my penpal for a while." There was an unusually long  
silence. Makoto was beginning to wonder of she had lost the  
connection when Jeff abruptly said, "Actually, why don't you  
come along? I'd like you to meet her."  
  
*Her?* "I don't want to intrude..."  
  
"Not at all, I'd been wanting to introduce you to some of my  
other friends. Uh... we won't be able to stay long, so the two  
of us can go out for dinner afterwards, how does that sound?"  
  
"If that's okay with your friend..." Makoto said hesitantly.  
  
"Sure. It probably makes most sense for us to meet at Shibuya  
station, that's where both of us would have to transfer."  
  
"I guess that means we're meeting at the Hachiko," Makoto said,  
naming the famous statue beside the Shibuya train station.  
  
"Okay. From where I am I'll probably get there first, so I'll  
be waiting."  
  
"I'll be as quick as I can."  
  
"No hurry. See you there." They said goodbye, and Makoto hung  
up. She stood and thought for a moment. Jeff had seemed ill at  
ease, something was wrong here. He wasn't taking her to meet  
the competition, was he? That would certainly take some  
chutzpa. And just when had she started thinking of his other  
lady friends as potential competition? She shrugged, and  
started getting ready to leave.  
  
On the subway ride to Shibuya, Makoto's thoughts naturally  
strayed to the daimon hunt. They had a plan of action for when  
the daimon showed up again, but Ami had heard no further reports  
of it as yet. Theoretically they should have been devoting all  
their time to the hunt: each day the monster was loose could  
mean another death. But all of them had learned some time ago  
that they could not live permanently in the realm of the sailor  
senshi, the realm of demons and aliens and magical powers. They  
needed to be part of the daily bustle of normal live, needed it  
just like food and air. To lose touch with the human world they  
had been growing up in would be to lose sanity.  
  
Jeff was waiting when she arrived. He led her down to the  
subway line to go further out into the outskirts of Tokyo. In  
between finding out what he'd been up to in the past couple of  
days Makoto asked about this friend of Jeff's as casually as  
possible. All she could get out of him was that her name was  
Akiko and he had known her for a couple of years. Despite his  
cheerful banter Makoto could see that Jeff was uneasy about  
something. She was becoming rather apprehensive herself.  
  
When a twenty minute walk from the station took them into the  
heart of a light industrial park, Makoto really began to wonder  
what Jeff was up to. "Jeff, are we going to visit her at her  
office?"  
  
"No, not exactly. It's just at the next block." A couple of  
minutes later he stopped them in front of a small nondescript  
grey single story industrial building, much like many of the  
others in the area. There were no windows, just a steel and  
glass door with an intercom and a company name in small  
characters. It read Cross Time in stylized roman characters.   
The Japanese characters below it were plain enough, but Makoto  
had never seen them used together this way, the meaning seemed  
to be "human cold temperature preservation."  
  
Makoto turned to Jeff to ask him what this was, and stopped.   
He was looking at her with a grim expression she had never seen  
before. "Makoto-san, there's something I have to tell you.   
About Akiko, I mean. Over a year ago, she was very badly  
injured in a traffic accident. She was taken to a hospital  
but... well, they couldn't do anything for her."  
  
Makoto gasped. "You mean she's...?"  
  
"They declared her legally dead, but it's not quite what you  
think. A few months before her accident, she had opened a  
special insurance policy with this company." He nodded towards  
the building. "Right after the doctors had given up on her, the  
Cross Time people put her through a process to slow down and  
then stop her metabolism. Eventually she was brought here,  
where she's been kept ever since."  
  
Makoto shook her head in bewilderment. "Jeff, I'm sorry, I  
don't understand. What exactly is this place?"  
  
"It's called a cryonic preservation facility. You can think of  
it as an intensive care unit for people that today's doctors  
can't help. The purpose of it is to keep their patients safe  
until a time when doctors *can* help them."  
  
It took a moment for Makoto to grasp what Jeff was saying.   
"You mean... doctors in the future?"  
  
"Yes, maybe decades from now or even centuries from now if need  
be."  
  
"So then... what we're doing is like an *o-mimai*?" Makoto  
asked, using the Japanese idiom that meant visiting a sick  
friend.  
  
Jeff's expression suddenly brightened, as if Makoto's quick  
understanding came as a welcome surprise. "Yes, that's exactly  
what it is. Look, I'm very sorry about the way I just dropped  
this in your lap, it's really inexcusable. It was really  
stupid, my bringing you here without any warning. It's just  
that, well, somehow it's easier for me to explain it when I'm  
actually here, close to her." Makoto could see that he was  
getting fidgety. "It won't take long, if you'd prefer to wait  
for me out here, that's okay."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Makoto said, surprising Jeff and  
herself with her sharp tone. "We came here to visit your sick  
friend, didn't we? If she's in a coma or something... well, all  
the more reason to show her our support, right?"  
  
Jeff leaned forward, kissed her on the cheek, and smiled  
warmly. "You're a treasure."  
  
Makoto felt a flush come to her cheeks, and she glanced around  
nervously. "Jeff, cut it out, someone could see."  
  
"You really are a treasure. Come on, let's go in." He stepped  
up to the door and rang the buzzer. A man's voice came on the  
intercom, and Jeff identified himself. The electronic lock  
buzzed, and Jeff pulled open the door and held it open for  
Makoto. She preceded him into a small, spare foyer that  
reminded her of the waiting room of a doctor's office. The next  
room, a small office, was visible through a glazed partition  
with an open slot, something like a bank teller. Behind the  
glass was a man in a white lab coat. He smiled, and he and Jeff  
waved and greeted each other in a familiar fashion. They walked  
up to the partition and Jeff made the introductions. The man  
was Ueda Yoshio, one of the technicians who watched over their  
patients. He was a short, bespectacled man with long straight  
hair and an infectious smile. He signed them in, passed two  
visitors' badges through the slot and disappeared to go open the  
inner door for them. It opened into a short hallway, where  
Yoshio led them past the door to his office, over to another  
door, which he opened with a pass card. He ushered them in.  
  
Makoto had no idea what she was expecting to see, but it  
certainly wasn't this. The room had a high ceiling and was  
dominated by four featureless shiny metal cylinders, each  
standing nearly three meters high and over a meter across.   
There were a few pieces of equipment she couldn't identify and  
not much else, it looked more like a warehouse than a medical  
centre.   
  
Yoshio politely excused himself, and went to a desk at the far  
end of the room to continue with some reading he had to do,  
leaving Makoto and Jeff standing in front of one of the  
cylinders. Jeff pointed to it. "Akiko's in there," he said in  
a low voice. "With one other patient. Each of these can hold  
four." He smiled sympathetically. "I guess it's not quite what  
you were expecting, is it?"  
  
"I don't know, I guess I was expecting to see her lying in  
something like a hospital bed."  
  
"I suppose you could say she's in a very deep coma. This dewar  
is just like a big thermos bottle, it's full of liquid nitrogen  
to keep her cold."  
  
Makoto's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean... she's  
*frozen*?"  
  
"Well, the process they put her through kept any ice crystals  
from forming in her body, so it's more like being encased in  
glass."  
  
Glass. Encased in glass. Makoto's mind suddenly leapt forward  
a thousand years, to Crystal Tokyo. To where King Endymion  
showed her into the room that held the still form of his beloved  
wife, Serenity. To where Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi's future  
self, was lying embedded in the shimmering clear crystals that  
held her frozen between life and death.  
  
Maybe that's what I was expecting to see, Makoto thought to  
herself.  
  
Jeff's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "I never thought  
about it, but I guess you don't even know what Akiko looks like.  
Next time we meet I'll bring one of the snapshots she sent me,"  
Jeff said.  
  
A sudden revelation hit Makoto. "You never met her in person,  
did you?"  
  
"No, we'd just exchanged electronic mail, a few letters and  
photos, and talked long distance. We were intending to meet  
when I came over here to study, but I heard about her accident  
just a couple of months before I got here."  
  
"Oh Jeff..." Makoto just put a comforting hand on his shoulder,  
not knowing what more she could say.  
  
But Jeff suddenly smiled. "You shouldn't be sad. You see, it  
was Akiko's dream to make a world where there was no sickness.   
When I first started writing her she was already in premed.   
This freezing of terminal patients, it was just another part of  
her vision, she really wanted to be able to save everyone. If  
she couldn't help bring about that world herself, then she at  
least wanted to live to see it." He looked away from Makoto to  
the shining dewar looming over them. " I guess now she'll just  
have to wait. Wait for others to create the science that will  
bring her back out of frozen time." He laughed nervously.   
"Sorry, I'm rambling. I guess it's kind of morbid, this  
planning for your own death."  
  
Makoto shook her head. "No. I think it's a wonderful dream,  
wanting to see a world with no sickness. I hope she makes it."   
She looked at the gleaming cylinders around her. "I hope they  
all do."  
  
  
  
  
  
Since her association with Michiru, Usagi had been inspired to  
expand her musical horizons. Having been so impressed by  
Michiru's virtuosity with the violin, Usagi was particularly  
keen on finding any concerts with lots of violins playing  
something romantic. Her friends were inevitably drawn into this  
mission, Ami quite enthusiastically, the others somewhat less  
so. But be that as it may, they were all in agreement that they  
couldn't pass up a performance that included Gustav Holst's The  
Planets.  
  
It was intermission, and the five girls stood with Mamoru and  
Chibi-usa on a balcony overlooking the expansive foyer of the  
concert hall. Ami was holding still while Minako helped her  
straighten out the ribbon on the back of her dress. "There, I  
think that's got it now," Minako said. "Honestly Ami, do you  
have any dresses that *don't* have a big ribbon on the back?"  
  
Ami laughed cheerfully. "I think I might have one."  
  
"Well I've never seen it then." They had all taken the  
opportunity to dress up for the occasion, the girls all in their  
best dresses and Mamoru in a tuxedo that was just one cape away  
from being his Tuxedo Kamen outfit.  
  
"So how did you like the concert so far, Chibi-usa?" Mamoru  
asked her.  
  
"It was very pretty music," Chibi-usa beamed. "But I still  
think it's not fair. He wrote music for all the other planets,  
but not for the moon. And not for Pluto."  
  
"The planet Pluto hadn't been discovered when he wrote the  
piece," Ami explained. "And the moon really isn't a planet,  
it's a natural satellite."  
  
"I still feel sort of left out, and I think Pooh does too,"  
Chibi-usa said, speaking for her absent friend Sailor Pluto.  
  
Rei chuckled. "I think he had Roman gods in mind when he wrote  
it, not us."  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Usagi said, "Somehow the Mars part always  
makes me think of how you are when you lose your temper."  
  
"Are you saying I have a temper?" Rei said in an utterly calm  
voice that set off warning bells in the back of everyone's heads.  
  
Showing the impeccable timing that seemed to be her birthright,  
Chibi-usa suddenly tugged on Mamoru's arm and said, "Mamoru-san,  
I'm thirsty, come buy me a juice!"  
  
"I'm not sure they're serving juice here," Mamoru said  
nervously as he was dragged towards one of the bartenders.  
  
"I'd better go make sure she doesn't persuade him to buy her a  
martini," Usagi said in explanation as she followed them.  
  
Rei shook her head as they watched Usagi catch up with the  
other two. "Usagi's become so paranoid about letting those two  
do anything together. Doesn't she understand that Chibi-usa is  
Mamoru's child as well?"  
  
"It must be very difficult for her," Ami said in her friend's  
defense. "Chibi-usa is her daughter, but right now she's more  
like a little sister. Just how is Usagi supposed to treat her?"  
  
Minako giggled. "I feel most sorry for Mamoru, actually. He's  
always caught in the middle of their bickering. He must feel  
like a referee sometimes."  
  
"I think the three of them will work it out somehow," Ami said.  
She turned to Makoto. "You've been very quiet tonight,  
Mako-chan. Are you feeling okay?" She sounded genuinely  
concerned.  
  
Makoto smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine." At some point over  
the past couple of days they had all found out about Makoto's  
odd experience visiting Jeff's friend. They were all aware that  
it had left her a little shaken. "After Jeff took me to see  
Akiko, I've just been thinking about things that I normally  
don't think about at all."  
  
"You mean about life and death?" Rei asked gently.  
  
"Exactly. I just didn't know what to think. There she was  
frozen in this tank, yet Jeff was talking about her as if she  
were still alive. Rei, do you think...?"  
  
Rei was already shaking her head. "I know what you're going to  
ask. You're not the first to think of that. We've had people  
come to the shrine who had relatives in a coma, begging with us  
for some way to tell them if their loved one was really gone.   
If they could still hope or if they should just let go. I'm  
sorry, Makoto, I have no way to tell if a spirit has fled it's  
body."  
  
Breaking an awkward silence, Ami said, "I did find out about  
that company, Cross Time. It's only been there for a couple of  
years, but it's actually the first overseas branch of an  
American company that's been doing this for about thirty years.   
They have dozens of patients in suspension, and hundreds more  
signed up for the treatment if they're declared legally dead."  
  
"Why were you looking for information on the company?" Minako  
asked.  
  
"I asked her to," Minako said. She was nervously rubbing the  
back of her neck, a sure sign to her friends that she was  
embarrassed. "I was afraid that Akiko had become part of some  
scam or cult, taking her money and giving her and Jeff false  
hopes. I was even thinking it was some bizarre plot to steal  
life energy, some new enemy we hadn't seen before. Or even that  
it was all an elaborate joke, that they were just storing  
embryos or something. I was imagining all sorts of things, I  
can tell you."  
  
"But do those people have any hope?" Minako asked, looking at  
Ami. "I mean, of ever being brought back to life?"  
  
Ami shrugged. "I couldn't say. Anyway, nobody knows more than  
we do that the line between life and death is a lot more blurry  
than we would like to think." Her friends were shocked into  
silence by Ami's implicit reference to their own death and  
resurrection.  
  
Only Makoto, who in the past little while had gotten used to  
thinking of these matters, was not taken aback. "You know, this  
all reminds me of something. Do you remember what the Snow  
Dancers did to a lot of Tokyo?"  
  
"How could we forget," Rei said. Their thoughts were cast back  
to the time when Princess Kaguya had descended upon the Earth on  
her shimmering white comet, intending to add this world to her  
collection. She had sent her Snow Dancers first to Tokyo, where  
they began the task of encasing every living thing they found in  
their glittering clear crystals, leaving them still living yet  
frozen in place. Only the intervention of the Sailor Senshi had  
prevented them from putting the entire planet into eternal  
frozen sleep.  
  
"I see what you're getting at," Minako said. "When we defeated  
the Snow Dancers, the people they had frozen went back to  
normal, almost as if nothing had happened."  
  
"Right. They were freezing those people for the wrong reasons,  
just to make them like butterflies in a collection. But just  
think, if somebody's life was in danger and there was no way to  
save them, maybe that would be the only thing to do."  
  
"I'm not sure if I like the idea," Rei said. "I mean, what if  
they started freezing everyone who is dying of AIDS until a  
cure was found? I just have this horrible vision of thousands  
upon thousands of people stored away in big freezer vaults for a  
hundred years."  
  
"Or five billion people for a thousand years."  
  
Ami had simply been thinking aloud, but she was suddenly aware  
of how her friends were staring at her. One look at their  
faces told her that they had all grasped the significance of her  
comment. "We haven't had much time to think about it since the  
Death Busters showed up," she continued. "But if what King  
Endymion told us in Crystal Tokyo is true, then the world will  
be frozen over sometime in the next few years."  
  
Rei sighed. They'd had this argument before. "Ami..."  
  
"I know," Ami interrupted as gently as she could. "There is no  
fate, except what we make ourselves. You taught me that. But I  
still think it's something we should prepare for."  
  
"How do you mean prepare?" Minako asked.  
  
"I'd saved some of the crystals left over from the Snow  
Dancers' attacks. I want to see if I can analyze them and  
reproduce the process."  
  
Makoto was shocked by the enormity, the incredible hubris of  
what Ami was thinking. "You mean prepare to do what Princess  
Kaguya almost did..." she said, awestruck.  
  
Ami was visibly upset, and abruptly averted her eyes. "I know  
how that must sound. But what if someday the only alternative  
is to just watch the whole world die? What if we have no other  
choice?"  
  
"You're right." Rei walked over and gently brushed aside a  
wisp of Ami's hair that had fallen forward near her eyes. "Like  
last time, you're right. If we want to head off what fate has  
in store for us, then we have to be ready to fight it. Or, to  
just work with it, if need be."  
  
"Rei..." Ami couldn't think how to thank her friend, thank her  
for understanding.  
  
"Hey, what's with all the long faces, did somebody die?"  
  
"Usako..." Mamoru said sternly, chiding her for startling the  
girls. The two Usagis each happily held a drink festooned with  
carrots, celery, maraschino cherries, little umbrellas and  
whatever else you could conceivably stick into a drink. They  
each also had a firm grip on one of Mamoru's arms, which had  
pretty much precluded the possibility of him ordering something  
for himself.  
  
Rei laughed out loud. "Well, you'd both better drink, eat or  
inhale those pretty quickly, the intermission is almost over."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Here's to the best curry rice in Tokyo, kanpai!" Jeff said,  
raising his wine glass high.  
  
"Kanpai!" Makoto returned, clinking her own glass against his.   
They both took another drink and put their glasses back down on  
the kitchen counter. She looked at the clock on the wall.   
"Should we give it a try now?"  
  
"Certainly not, we serve no curry before it's time. We  
promised we'd wait until we knew it was perfect."  
  
"I know, but the aroma is intoxicating." The two of them had  
decided that today they would collaborate to make the  
penultimate curry rice. It had been an all day affair, right  
from the morning shopping to the upcoming culmination of the  
long simmering process. Two perfectionists in one kitchen could  
have been a recipe for trouble, but they had found that they  
worked together splendidly.  
  
"Let's sit down for a while," Jeff suggested.  
  
"Good idea, it will take me further from temptation." They  
removed the slippers they wore in the kitchen and went to sit on  
the tatami mats by Makoto's low table. The bottle of wine was  
there, still more than half full. Makoto knew she shouldn't be  
drinking, but it was hardly her first time. And besides, she  
had been the one to suggest that Jeff get them some.  
  
"Shouldn't you be getting the results of your entrance exams  
soon?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Probably starting next week."  
  
She smiled sympathetically. "Nervous?"  
  
"A bit. I'm not too concerned about getting into a big name  
university. It's some of the smaller universities with less  
conservative administrators that are doing the most exciting  
research, that's where I'd like to get my start."  
  
"You're talking about nanotechnology, right?"  
  
Jeff grinned. "Mentioned it already, have I? Yes, that's my  
real dream. It's only in its infancy, but just think of what we  
could do with it, if we really could control matter right down  
to the molecular level. We could make just about anything we  
wanted, cure any disease, even reshape our own bodies. It would  
be a whole new world." He chuckled. "Listen to me, you must be  
getting tired of hearing this."  
  
"Not at all," Makoto said, meaning it. In fact, she loved  
nothing more than listening to him talk about the world he  
wanted to build. She wondered how much of his enthusiasm had  
been inspired by Akiko's example.  
  
The phone rang. Annoyed at the interruption, Makoto walked  
across the room and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"  
  
"Makoto, it's Rei. I knew you had company, so I didn't use the  
communicator."  
  
"Yes?" Makoto said as casually as she could manage, but her  
heart had started racing as soon as she heard Rei's urgent tone.  
Rei having considered using their communication wristbands  
could only mean one thing.  
  
"There's been another attack in Juban. We have some idea where  
it's probably gone to ground, Ami wants to try the bait."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"The playground three blocks north from my school."  
  
Makoto kept a detailed map of Juban pinned to the wall beside  
her phone. She traced her finger from where she knew Rei's  
private school to be, to make sure she understood where to go.   
She tapped the little green spot marking the playground. "Got  
it, I'll leave right away."  
  
"Right." They both hung up.  
  
"Makoto, is something wrong?"  
  
Makoto turned to look at Jeff, and saw worry in his face. I  
guess I did a poor job of trying to sound casual, she thought.   
"Jeff, I'm really sorry but something's come up. I have to go  
out right now, I'm not sure when I can come back."  
  
Jeff frowned, looking even more worried. "Makoto, I don't mean  
to pry, but that sounded really serious. Is there anything I  
can do to help?"  
  
Makoto was aware of just how obvious the tension she was  
feeling must be, there was no point trying to hide it anymore.   
The other girls had long since come up with ready excuses for  
all the times they were suddenly called out at odd hours, to  
allay their families' suspicions. Living alone, Makoto had no  
need for such excuses. Until now. She drew a deep breath.  
"Jeff, I'm sorry but I don't have time to explain right now. I  
have to go help a friend of mine, it's something important."   
She turned towards the door as she talked. "Please start dinner  
without me, and just leave what's left to simmer. I'll have it  
later." She was pulling on a jacket and shuffling into her  
shoes. "If it gets really late, just lock up when you leave,  
okay?"  
  
"Okay," Jeff said hesitantly. "I'm just worried that you're in  
some kind of trouble, that's all." Makoto got the impression  
that he wanted to say more, but was reluctantly respecting her  
privacy.  
  
Makoto wanted to say more too, but she just didn't have the  
time. She tried to smile. "Please don't worry about me, I'll  
be fine. I'm really sorry about this, I hope the curry at least  
turns out well. Bye." With that, she was out the door.  
  
She cleared most of the outside staircase in one leap, and went  
into a dead run. A couple of streets down she ducked into an  
alley, her transformation pen already in hand. She skidded to a  
stop, raised it above her head, and the words "Jupiter Star  
Power!" set the now so familiar process in motion. Local time  
and space bent out of shape. A startled alley cat was sole  
witness to the transformation. It saw a blinding flash of  
light, heard a sound like a thousand static discharges, then  
there was little more than a blur as Sailor Jupiter shot out the  
other end of the alley at blinding speed.  
  
Taking full advantage of the superhuman strength the  
transformation afforded her, and of her knowledge of the local  
terrain, Jupiter raced through the night. She sped down streets  
like a hurricane, cleared obstacles with graceful leaps that no  
gazelle could match. She would be at her destination in minutes.  
  
Traversing the dark urban landscape at such speed took  
tremendous concentration, and anticipation of the coming hunt  
took up the rest of her attention. But some small part of  
Jupiter's mind was still rankled by the lies she had to tell, or  
more accurately the truths she had to conceal. She hated  
herself for thinking it, but this wasn't the first time she felt  
resentment for Usagi and Ami having boyfriends that they could  
fully confide in. Mamoru and Ryou already knew about their  
alternate lives as sailor senshi. But Makoto had to live a lie.  
Suddenly Jeff's words rang through her head: "Your name means  
'truth'..." Not today it doesn't, she thought bitterly.  
  
She slowed down as she approached the playground. The other  
four senshi were already gathered there. She noted with  
satisfaction that the area was otherwise deserted. Especially  
when word was out that more strange things were afoot, not too  
many people in this neighbourhood ventured out after dark. It  
was a small playground, with the usual jungle gym, sandbox and  
swings. One side of it was occupied by several huge old oak  
trees, like silent old sentinels watching over this realm of  
children. It was here that the senshi were congregated. Mars  
was apart from the others. She was in front of one of the  
trees, performing what looked like a prayer.  
  
Mercury nodded a greeting to Jupiter as she came to join them.   
Jupiter could see now that she was holding the Death Busters gun  
that the two of them had been working on. It was a plain  
metallic cylinder with a simple buttstock at one end, a short  
barrel at the other end and a pistol grip underneath. Mercury  
held it delicately in both hands, pointed upwards; Jupiter  
understood that she had the weapon primed and ready.  
  
"We're proceeding as planned?" Jupiter asked in a low voice.   
She had noticed as she approached that the others had been  
talking very quietly, as if afraid to make too much noise.  
  
"Yes, as soon as Mars is done," Sailor Moon said.  
  
"What exactly is she doing?" Jupiter asked.  
  
The others looked at each other as if deciding who should  
answer. At length, Venus said "As far as we can figure, she's  
apologizing to the tree."  
  
Jupiter decided to just let that one slide. She looked over to  
where Mars still stood with palms placed together in front of  
her, her mouth moving in silent prayer. Not surprising,  
considering what we intend to do, Jupiter thought.  
  
A few moments later, Mars finished whatever she was doing, and  
walked over to join them. "Any time," she said simply.  
  
"Are you ready, Ami?" Sailor Moon asked.  
  
"Yes." Sailor Mercury walked over to stand a little further  
from the tree than Mars had been standing, placing it between  
her and the playground. The other senshi stood flanking her,  
keeping some distance. Mercury fell to one knee, and brought  
the gun to her shoulder. She took a moment to settle into  
position, aimed and pulled the trigger.  
  
They all flinched at the sudden loud discharge, even though  
they had been expecting it. The bright white beam that shot out  
of the gun hit the tree trunk dead centre, then abruptly  
dissipated.  
  
They stood silently for a moment. As the afterimage of the  
beam cleared from their eyes, they could see that it had left no  
visible mark on the tree. Mercury stood, now holding the gun  
more casually. No doubt she had loaded it with only one charge,  
Jupiter thought. Mars walked up to the tree to look beyond it.   
Suddenly she pointed into the playground and turned her head to  
look back at the others. "There."  
  
The others followed her into the playground, and formed a  
circle around what Mars had been pointing at. They looked at it  
in silence for a moment. "Well, it looks like we got  
something," Jupiter said.  
  
Dim but clearly visible, a little silvery ball of light floated  
in front of them. As they watched, little tendrils of sparkling  
light would slowly emerge from the fuzzy little ball and then  
lazily fall back into it.  
  
So this is what the life force of a tree looks like, Jupiter  
thought. Of course a tree did not have a pure heart or any sort  
of heart, but it did have a life force. Mercury's bet had been  
that the Death Buster gun would extract that life force and give  
it some sort of concentrated physical form, just as it gave  
physical form to the pure heart of a person it was fired at.  
  
Now the question was whether the daimon would be attracted to  
the weapon discharge, or to the weak little concentration of  
life force floating here.  
  
"We should get ready," Mercury said. She turned to Jupiter.   
"The trees are probably the best place."  
  
"Okay," Jupiter said. Apparently this had been decided on  
before she arrived. She headed for one of the huge oaks. Even  
the lower branches would have been too high for Kino Makoto to  
jump to, but in her senshi form it presented no problem. She  
climbed up to a higher branch and settled down to stand vigil.   
The other senshi were already out of sight. The tree's life  
force was barely visible below her as a little point of light in  
the dark playground.  
  
Makoto tried to stay alert, but couldn't keep her mind from  
wandering. How am I going to explain this to Jeff, she thought.  
What must he be thinking now? He must know that I was hiding  
something. I'm such a poor liar, no matter what I come up with  
he'll know it's not the truth. I'll lose his trust. And why do  
I suddenly care so much that he trust me?  
  
A movement caught her eye, snapping her back to the present.   
Somebody was walking towards the playground. It was a man,  
though through the leaves Jupiter couldn't see very clearly. He  
came under the light of the streetlight that was in front of the  
park, and suddenly Jupiter's heart went into overdrive. It was  
Jeff. Fighting panic, she tried to think clearly. How could he  
possibly be here? She tried to think back to when she had  
spoken to Rei. Had he overheard her say something that had  
tipped him off? Then she thought of the map, and cursed herself  
as she realized her mistake. She had pointed to exactly where  
she was going. Jeff was obsessively observant. Out of  
curiosity or worry or suspicion, he had decided to come to the  
same place.  
  
Her heart sank further as she saw Jeff walk into the park.   
Without hesitation, he headed straight for the floating ball of  
light. If he hadn't spotted it from the street, he could  
certainly see it now. Now what was she supposed to do? If she  
didn't act soon, one of the other senshi would probably do the  
obvious thing: go down there and get him out of here, by force  
if need be. Just how would he react if he saw a real live  
sailor senshi right before his eyes?  
  
Well, I guess I'm about to find out.  
  
Jupiter leaped down to a lower branch, then down to the ground,  
going down low as her bent legs absorbed the fall. Jeff, who  
had been intent upon the strange floating anomaly he was  
approaching, whirled around at the sound. He was even more  
startled when Sailor Jupiter cleared the distance between them  
in two prodigious leaps.  
  
Without preamble, she said to him, "You're in great danger  
here. I'm going to escort you to a safe distance and then  
you're going to go home, is that clear?"  
  
There was no fear in Jeff's face, only wonder. "My God, you're  
real..." he whispered more to himself than to her.  
  
"Yes of course I'm real, now come on," Jupiter said sternly,  
reaching for his arm fully intending to drag him from this place  
if need be.  
  
Jeff stepped back with his hands raised before him, his  
expression suddenly becoming desperate. "Wait a minute! I  
think that a freind of mine is coming here, if this place is  
dangerous I need to find her first."  
  
Jupiter took a deep breath, made her decision. "Damn it Jeff,  
we don't have time to argue!"  
  
Time stopped. As comprehension began to show in Jeff's  
expression, Makoto thought she heard leaves rustling and a  
barely stifled curse behind her. Probably Mars, thinking that I  
just blew it. But I didn't, this is my choice.  
  
She reached for his hand, clasped it. "Jeff-kun, do I have to  
carry you?" she asked as gently as she could manage.  
  
He opened his mouth to say something and hesitated, looking  
like he wanted to ask a thousand questions. Then he too seemed  
to come to a decision. "Mako-chan, I... okay. You told me the  
truth, so I'll just trust you."  
  
Sailor Jupiter smiled at him in a way that was so familiar he  
wondered how it was possible he hadn't recognized her  
immediately. She tugged him by the hand and they moved toward  
the street, walking briskly. "We need to hurry, do you mind  
running?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"Not at all, you set the pace." He said it casually, but he  
was still staring at her with wonderment in his eyes.  
  
Makoto smiled, wondering how much of the irony in the statement  
was intentional. She picked up the pace to a brisk jog, which  
Jeff matched. She figured they could maintain this until she  
got him to the nearest subway station, which she thought of as  
the quickest way to get him well out of danger. With a little  
thrill of sudden realization, it occurred to her that she could  
transform back to Kino Makoto and take him right into the  
station. After all, he already knew the truth. She was just  
debating how much extra time that would take when the daimon  
leaped out of the alley entrance they were approaching and swung  
at her.  
  
There was no time think. All she saw was an enormous dark  
muscled arm and four long white claws. Impossible to avoid  
completely. She sidestepped toward the leaping creature and met  
its thick forearm with her own two slender arms. The impact  
threw her down to the ground. She landed hard on her back as  
the creature flew over her. She would have cried out in pain if  
the wind were not already knocked out of her.  
  
Momentarily paralyzed with shock and pain, she looked  
helplessly up at the creature as it killed its forward momentum  
and turned back to face her. It was a hunchbacked, powerfully  
muscled giant covered in brown fur. It's small head was split  
by a wide mouth with two rows of sharklike teeth, and it's  
glowing green eyes were surrounded by a mask of black fur over a  
short snout that would have looked funny under other  
circumstances. It raised its arm over her and a pop bottle  
suddenly went caroming off its head.  
  
The daimon snarled and looked to its side, facing its new  
attacker. Jupiter followed its gaze. She almost whimpered in  
despair when she realized it was Jeff. It should have been  
comical, seeing him grab another bottle out of the nearby  
recycling bin and wave it over his head, as if he could  
threaten the giant creature with it. He was screaming at it in  
English, what little Makoto could understand sounded vaguely  
obscene. The daimon hesitated, looking at each of the two  
humans, as if deciding which to deal with first.  
  
Jupiter took advantage of its indecision. She flipped herself  
up to her feet, crossed her arms and shouted "Supreme Thunder!"   
It would have to be the speeddraw version, not too powerful but  
hopefully quick enough to get the drop on the creature. It was  
just crouching to spring at her when the lightning forming  
around Jupiter's tiara leaped out at its head. Like all daimon,  
it had an effective shield that absorbed most of the magical  
attack, so it was more surprised than hurt. Jupiter was  
deciding whether to attack again or try to lead it away when the  
daimon twisted and launched itself towards Jeff with a speed  
that belied its bulk.  
  
Jupiter screamed impotently, but then was astonished to see the  
creature unceremoniously scoop Jeff up in one arm, fling him  
over one massive shoulder like a rag doll and run with him.   
Immediately Jupiter guessed its intent: it was cutting its  
losses, taking the easier prey and escaping the immediate  
threat. Desperately, she ran off after it. The pain in her  
bruised back muscles was agonizing, slowing her down, she could  
just barely keep up. She was aware of voices behind her,  
calling her. The other senshi, attracted to the sounds of  
battle, were catching up with her.  
  
The daimon led her on a tortuous course down dark alleys and  
back streets. It was all she could do to keep it in sight. She  
would have to be closer to get a clear shot at it without risk  
of hitting Jeff. She could see him flopping up and down on its  
massive shoulder. He was offering no resistance, no doubt  
having been knocked senseless by the violent jarring of its  
movement. She drove herself beyond the limit of endurance,  
trying not to think of how badly Jeff was being injured by this  
chase.  
  
The alley suddenly opened up, and Makoto realized where they  
were: one of the big canals that crossed the city. The daimon  
leaped over the edge of the canal and down into it. Jupiter did  
likewise, and landed on the dry concrete canal floor. The  
daimon was heading for a storm sewer exit that pierced the canal  
wall some distance away. In a flash Jupiter realized where it  
had been taking its recent victims, how it had been moving  
about. It meant to take Jeff underground, to a dark quiet  
intimate place where it could open up his ribcage and...  
  
The others would be here to back her up in seconds, but that  
would be too late. She wound up, cried "Sparkling Wide  
Pressure!" and with the last of her strength threw the  
crackling, shimmering ball lightning she had called forth  
straight at the fleeing daimon. If she could just knock its  
legs out from under it, maybe even make it drop its prey, then  
she and her approaching friends could deal with it.  
  
The creature turned its head to look back. What passed for a  
consciousness in the daimon's head registered the incoming  
threat by its light, its noise and its psychic power. The  
evolved cunning of the tanuki and the programmed ruthlessness of  
the daimon egg that controlled it somehow immediately agreed  
upon how it would block the threat.  
  
It threw Jeff straight into the incoming missile.  
  
"No!" Jupiter screamed, severing her link with the speeding  
ball of energy, willing it to disperse. Not quickly enough.   
The rapidly dissipating tendrils of lightning hit Jeff in  
midair, enveloping him. His body convulsed, most of its  
momentum lost to the impact, and he flopped to the ground.  
  
Jupiter fell to her knees. Her mind went blank, unable to  
accept what was happening. She watched with a sort of calm  
detachment as the daimon moved to reclaim its prey.  
  
A red streak like a laser angled down, striking the creature  
across its eyes and hitting the ground. It embedded itself in  
the concrete there, resolving itself into a rose that was not  
really a rose. The daimon threw its hands up to its face and  
shrieked in agony, temporarily blinded. Sailor Venus appeared  
close to Tuxedo Kamen and jumped down from the canal rim above,  
landing right behind the creature. Without hesitation, she  
pointed up, called forth the Crescent Beam and shot the daimon  
point blank in the back of the neck execution style. At that  
range, the daimon's natural magical barrier was of little use.   
The creature's misshapen head disappeared behind a fireball as  
the beam detonated. Both it and Venus went staggering from the  
blast, but neither of them lost their footing. Mars jumped down  
right in front of the stumbling, blinded giant. Perceiving that  
its defensive barrier was wavering, she spun her arm around and  
the shining golden circle of her Burning Mandala materialized in  
front of her. A stream of glowing golden rings shot out of the  
shimmering circle, hitting the daimon square in the face,  
enveloping it in flame. Its head now a charred ruin, the thing  
finally fell to the ground at Sailor Mars' feet.  
  
In the meantime, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen had come down  
into the canal a short distance away. They approached to join  
their friends who were standing warily over the motionless  
creature.  
  
Sailor Jupiter was aware of what was happening simply as a  
backdrop to her shock and despair. What finally caught her  
attention was Sailor Mercury jumping down into the canal and  
kneeling over Jeff's body. Jupiter got to her feet, staggered  
over to where Mercury was rapidly but calmly checking Jeff's  
vital signs. For just a moment, Jupiter allowed herself to  
believe that maybe, just maybe, she hadn't killed Jeff after  
all. Mercury looked up as she saw Jupiter approach, and all  
hope was dashed from Sailor Jupiter's heart as she saw the look  
in Mercury's eyes.  
  
Sailor Mercury shook her head once. "I'm so sorry, Makoto."  
  
Jupiter looked down at Jeff's body. "But why...?" she  
whimpered. There was no sign of serious injury, no blood.  
  
"His heart's stopped. I don't know why," Mercury said,  
wrapping her anguish up in an analytical veneer.  
  
Of course you don't know, Jupiter thought. You showed up too  
late to see. You didn't see me kill him. She looked at Jeff's  
face, and right away her vision was blurred by more tears. He  
should look peaceful, shouldn't he? Why does he still look like  
he's in such pain?  
  
Because he hasn't given up. He's not ready to let go.  
  
"You can't *have* him!" Jupiter screamed. She threw herself  
down beside him, and with two quick motions she unzipped his  
jacket and threw it open. She grabbed the collar of his shirt  
in both hands and ripped the shirt right in half.  
  
Momentarily startled, Mercury now reached out to her friend.   
"Makoto, what are you...?"  
  
"Stay back!" Jupiter snarled. She held out her open hands  
inches over Jeff's bared chest and tried to calm herself. This  
is what interrupted the flow of his lifeblood. Fight fire with  
fire. Streams of little blue-white sparks began to dance around  
her tiara. Abruptly, she slapped her hands down on Jeff's chest  
and there was a loud discharge. His body seemed to jump up off  
the ground, then fell down limp again.  
  
Mercury grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "Stop it!   
Makoto, he's gone!"  
  
Sailor Jupiter grabbed Mercury by the collar of her uniform,  
and pulled her even closer. "Check his pulse. Now."  
  
Whatever she saw in Jupiter's face caused Mercury to relax her  
grip and nod in agreement. As soon as Jupiter released her, she  
immediately went to once again place two fingertips against  
Jeff's throat. The fear in her face soon gave way to  
astonishment. "It can't be..." she whispered. Suddenly she  
was in motion again. She repositioned Jeff's head, bent down  
and clamped her mouth down over his. Jeff's chest rose as  
Mercury blew air into his lungs.  
  
Jupiter watched this in silence. Yes, I forgot about that, she  
thought. The breathing. That's important too. She was barely  
able to think coherently, her head was still reeling from having  
absorbed most of the shock of the discharge into her own body.   
If she hadn't done that, she would have fried Jeff's heart  
instead of restarting it.  
  
Now Mercury was listening for Jeff's breathing, resting one  
hand lightly over his chest. She nodded with satisfaction.   
"He's breathing on his own now." Jupiter noticed that Sailor  
Mars was now kneeling over Jeff as well, one of her hands laid  
over his forehead. She wondered what Rei was doing. The other  
senshi often spent a lot of time wondering what exactly Rei was  
doing. The secretive mystic had already developed arcane powers  
before she even became a sailor senshi. For the most part,  
these powers were something she would not or could not discuss  
with her friends. About all they could agree upon was that Rei  
could be trusted to call upon those powers if and when they  
would be of help.  
  
Mars lifted her hand from Jeff's brow and looked at Mercury.   
"He's very weak. I don't think he'll last an hour in this  
condition."  
  
Mercury nodded. "There's nothing more we can do here, we have  
to get him to a hospital."  
  
"Preferably in an ambulance," Mars said.  
  
"I'll see to it," Jupiter heard Sailor Venus say from behind  
her. In a flash, Venus had leapt up to the rim of the canal and  
was gone.  
  
Mars and Mercury were already carrying Jeff between them,  
heading over to take him back up to street level. Jupiter moved  
to help them, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She  
turned to see Sailor Moon looking at her, shaking her head.   
"You're hurt, you can barely stand. Let them do it. He'll be  
okay."  
  
Jupiter had no strength to argue. She just nodded and leaned  
on her friend for support.  
  
"Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Kamen suddenly called, some urgency in  
his voice. She and Jupiter looked over to where he still stood  
watching over the fallen daimon. It was no longer motionless.   
It still lay on it's stomach, but now its limbs were making  
small, convulsive movements. As the two senshi went to stand by  
Tuxedo Kamen, the daimon made a feeble attempt to rise, but  
couldn't seem to get proper control of its body. Jupiter could  
hear the sick, wet sound of its laboured breathing. She tried  
not to look too closely at what was left of its head.  
  
"Oh, how can it still be alive?" Sailor Moon said, upset at  
seeing the creature's suffering.  
  
"Usako, you have to end it," Tuxedo Kamen said to her gently.  
  
She looked up at him, horror showing up on her face. "But  
Mamoru! If I do that, it will be a tanuki again, and it will  
be... it will be..."  
  
"I know," Tuxedo Kamen said soothingly, taking her hand. "Just  
do it, then go find Jupiter some place to rest. I'll take care  
of whatever else needs to be done here."  
  
Sailor Moon stiffened as the meaning of this sunk in. With  
supreme effort, she steeled herself. "Okay." She turned  
towards the daimon, and by the power of her will, the Spiral  
Heart Moon Rod that would free the animal from its alien  
tormenter appeared in her hand.  
  
As Sailor Jupiter looked on, part of her wondered what she was  
supposed to be feeling for this creature that had killed that  
man in the photograph, that had nearly killed her dear friend.   
But right now, she was beyond feeling anything.  
  
  
  
  
  
For the hundredth time, Makoto reviewed in her mind the things  
she wanted to say. As she walked, she assured herself yet again  
that this was what Jeff needed to hear. Even in these  
circumstances, she still owed him the truth. The truth about  
what happened, and about her own feelings. As she walked into  
Jeff's room, she realized just how difficult this was going to  
be. But her mind was made up.  
  
She walked across the room and stood motionless. Her mind  
briefly wandered back to the events of the past few days.  
  
He had made it to the hospital, but by the time Kino Makoto had  
shown up to ask after her stricken friend, the doctors already  
were warning her not to expect him to last the night. Pacing  
the hallway, maddened by helpless rage, she was suddenly  
confronted by the kind, sympathetic face she remembered from her  
visit to Cross Time. Ueda Yoshio, the cryonics technician.   
Even before he began to patiently explain the situation to her,  
she had guessed why he and the other cryonicists were here.   
Soon after coming of age, Jeff had followed Akiko's example and  
made the proper arrangements. They were here to wait for the  
moment the doctors would give up.  
  
You would never guess it from the way they all treat me so  
nicely, but I couldn't have made it very easy for them, Makoto  
thought. Her memory of that night was blurred by a haze of  
exhaustion and anxiety, but she certainly remembered going into  
hysterics more than once. When they had finally gotten her to  
accept the situation, she had insisted upon staying with Jeff  
through the entire process. By the time the moment had come,  
she had calmed down sufficiently to convince them that she could  
go through with it.  
  
It had been a long series of complex processes, spread over  
several days, none of which she fully understood. At each  
stage, she had watched with an ever changing mix of wonder and  
anguish as they did the things that would slow down the flow of  
his life, and then bring it to a halt.  
  
Now Makoto stood in front of the shining metal dewar that held  
Jeff frozen in time. She was ready to begin.  
  
"Jeff, I'll be honest with you right now. This is probably the  
last time I'll be here. I hope you won't be disappointed with  
me. Most of all, I hope you won't think it's because I don't  
care. It's probably because I care too much. We didn't know  
each other for very long, but I was really starting to feel like  
you might be the one. For me, I mean. I guess you must think  
that's silly, but... you see, if I don't let go of you right  
now, once and for all, this is going to drive me crazy. I know  
they told me this is just like you're in a coma and you'll come  
out some day, and maybe they're right, but I can't get my mind  
around that. It's too big. I have to just accept that you're  
gone from my world. I haven't given you up for dead, I will  
never do that. It's more like you've gone away for a very, very  
long time. Right now, I can only think of you as an old friend  
who I might meet up with again many, many years from now, when  
we'll both be different people with a lot of catching up to do."  
  
Makoto sighed. That was the easy part done.  
  
"I don't know how much memory you have of what happened,  
wherever you may be right now, but I want you to know one thing.  
I was the one..." she hesitated. This was a high security  
area, those cameras probably had microphones too. She didn't  
care. "I was the one who put you here. I don't just mean that  
I foolishly led you right to the place where you were attacked.   
I mean it was my clumsy attempt to save you that crushed the  
life out of your heart, that forced them to put you in this  
place. Jeff, I can't tell you how sorry I am, I would give my  
life to bring you back, I truly would. If I had told you the  
whole truth about myself sooner, you might not be in here. I  
hope and pray that you can forgive me.  
  
"Even though it was too late, I'm glad I was able to tell you  
about my.. my little secret. There's something else I want to  
share with you. I've been to the future, I mean really,  
actually been there. I know that's hard to believe, but I  
wasn't the only one there. Friends whom I love and trust saw  
the same things, so I know they're real. What I saw really  
frightened me. The world was changed beyond recognition, by  
forces both terrible and wonderful. I felt lost, completely out  
of place. When I saw that I would be living in that future,  
that world I barely recognized, I didn't know what to think.   
I've been living in fear, having nightmares of being lost in  
that alien world so far in the future.   
  
"But then I met you, and you started telling me about how you  
wanted to embrace the future and make it your own. The future  
you talked about was just as wildly different from my own  
comfortable little world as the future I saw with my own eyes,  
yet you weren't the least bit afraid of it. In fact, you  
welcomed all these changes, you wanted to change yourself to  
become part of the world you dreamed about. I'm not sure I  
could embrace this self directed evolution the way you want to.   
I'll probably still be thinking in straight lines a thousand  
years from now, making the same stupid mistakes I am now. I  
just wanted you to know that, after I met you, I haven't been  
nearly as afraid of what's to come as I used to be. I can't  
thank you enough for sharing your dreams with me, it will help  
me more than you can know.  
  
"That's about all I wanted to say. Wherever your future lies,  
whether it's in this world or the next one, I hope you'll be  
happy. And I hope that, one way or another, we can meet again."  
  
Makoto reached forward and gently rested her fingertips on the  
cool metal of the dewar. "Good bye for now," she whispered.   
She turned, and walked out the door.  
  
Either Yoshio had been watching her over the cameras, or  
somehow he had been alerted to her coming out through the door,  
for he emerged from his office as she approached. She stopped,  
and bowed formally. "Thank you very much for letting me visit  
with your patient, I'm very grateful."  
  
He waved off her formalities with a smile. "Please,  
Makoto-san, we don't need to stand on ceremony, you're welcome  
any time."  
  
"I know you probably weren't supposed to be leaving me alone in  
there, I really appreciate it."  
  
"It's the least I could do, the way you stuck it out with Jeff  
right through the whole process. You couldn't have gotten much  
sleep in the past week."  
  
"I did, here and there," Makoto said, warmed by Yoshio's  
concern. "Did Jeff's family show up yet?" Yoshio had told her  
earlier that Jeff's parents and elder brother were flying in  
from San Francisco.  
  
"Yes, in fact they were here with a priest for a service  
yesterday, I guess while you were getting some well deserved  
sleep." He smiled at Makoto's obvious surprise. "You see, his  
family didn't really accept his decision to sign up for the  
cryopreservation process, as far as they're concerned this is  
just a fancy way of intering bodies. They think of Jeff as  
being dead and gone. We have to respect their beliefs, so we  
allowed them to hold a funeral service right here."  
  
Makoto was shocked by this, and was suddenly questioning her  
own feelings. But no, it was clear in her heart, and she had  
made it clear with her words: she had not given him up for dead.  
She would not.  
  
Yoshio walked with her to into the front foyer. "You know, I'm  
long since used to most people not taking what we do seriously,  
but it always warms my heart when one of our patients has at  
least one friend who hasn't given up on them."  
  
Makoto smiled back at him. "Well, I have friends who perform  
miracles on a regular basis, so in my books anything is  
possible." She bowed to Yoshio, less formally this time. "Thank  
you for everything, and please take good care of my friend."  
  
"We will."  
  
They said their goodbyes and Makoto walked out of the Cross  
Time building, leaving Yoshio to puzzle over her enigmatic  
parting words.  
  
  
  
  
  
Since she had opened the windows to let the early afternoon  
breeze pass through, Makoto could hear Usagi and Ami talking  
down in the alley before they even got to her door. She pulled  
off the apron she had been wearing while cleaning up, and went  
to let them in.  
  
"What's this? I thought we were supposed to meet at the spa,"  
Makoto said as she ushered them in. "Is there a change in plan?"  
  
"Nope. Ami just needed to drop something off first," Usagi  
said with a smug expression that simply cried out "I know  
something you don't know!"  
  
Usagi and Ami had a duffel bag and knapsack respectively, no  
doubt with the change of clothes they were taking to the spa.   
But Ami was also carrying a grocery bag that had a small  
cardboard box in it. She held it out to Makoto. "This is  
something I'd like you to keep for me for a while, if you don't  
mind."  
  
Makoto took it and looked at it. "Sure, but what is it?"  
  
"Why don't you open it and see?" Usagi encouraged her.  
  
Makoto looked at Ami and raised an eyebrow in question. Ami  
smiled shyly and nodded. Very curious now, Makoto went over to  
put the package down at her low table and lowered herself to the  
bamboo mats. Usagi practically teleported herself down to the  
other side of the table, looking like a little kid at Christmas.  
Somewhat more leisurely, Ami moved to join them. Makoto undid  
the strings that held the box closed, and opened up the top.   
All she could see was crumpled up newspaper. She carefully  
removed enough of it to get a look at what was packed in the  
middle. She simply stared in wonder.  
  
"It's not as delicate as it looks," Ami said encouragingly.   
"You can take it out."  
  
Makoto reached in with both hands, and carefully removed the  
single object the box contained. She held it up for them all to  
see.  
  
It was a butterfly encased in crystal. The insect could be  
seen clearly through the transparent, glass-like material. The  
flat, angular facets of the crystal formed a multi-pointed star  
that roughly mirrored the shape of the butterfly wings on a  
larger scale and projected that shape into three dimensions.   
The colors of the butterfly wings were being reflected  
throughout the crystal and all over Makoto's hands as she turned  
it around to examine it from all sides.  
  
"Isn't it pretty?" Usagi said excitedly. "She gave one to me  
this morning, and she said she's going to give one to Rei and  
Minako too!"  
  
"I *lent* it to you," Ami corrected her gently.  
  
"I know that!" Usagi said, totally unconcerned.  
  
"It's beautiful, where did you get it?" Makoto asked Ami.  
  
"I sort of made it. It's something I've been working on for  
about a month."  
  
A month. With a sudden pang in her stomach, Makoto was  
reminded that Jeff had now been frozen in time for a month.   
That thought suddenly led to a revelation. "Ami, I've seen this  
sort of crystal before. Isn't it what the Snow Dancers used?"  
  
"Very much like it," Ami confirmed. "I think I've pretty much  
duplicated the process they used."  
  
The implication of that sank in. "You mean... this butterfly  
is still alive?"  
  
Ami nodded. "It would be more accurate to call it viable, but  
yes, it's alive. They emerged from pupae that Umino raised for  
me. I've used the Snow Dancers' technique to suspend six of  
them in crystals like this one."  
  
"And in one year we're going to set them all free!" Usagi  
chimed.  
  
Makoto finally understood. This was an experiment. Ami was  
trying to develop the power to put people into suspended  
animation. This was the first step.  
  
"You think they'll be alive after a year?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Yes, I think so. I released others after a day and they were  
fine. This should be no different."  
  
Makoto put the butterfly down on the table. The lower points  
of the crystal formed a nice four-point base. "It's incredible,  
Ami. You really did it." She shook her head in wonder. "And  
it's one of the most lovely things I've ever seen. Not only  
have you performed a miracle, you've managed to turn it into a  
real work of art." Makoto suddenly took Ami's hand and met her  
eyes. "You truly are your father's child as well, Ami-chan."  
  
Ami grinned at her, unashamedly basking in Makoto's praise.   
"That's such a sweet thing to say, thank you." Ami hadn't  
exchanged a word with her father in years, not since his divorce  
from Ami's mother. But as her friends knew, she still felt very  
close to him. Regularly he would send her packages from  
whichever part of the world he happened to be in. They would  
contain nothing but landscape drawings he had made. The  
drawings for which he was justly famous, and for which many  
serious collectors would gladly give up body parts for. Those  
glorious drawings were the only messages Ami needed from her  
father, the messages that inspired her to always look for the  
beauty in everything she saw and everything she did.  
  
"Mine looked a little different, I can't wait to see the ones  
Rei and Minako are going to get! I bet each one will be  
different!" Usagi seemed to be unperturbed by the wider  
implications of what Ami was trying to do. It occurred to  
Makoto that Ami might not yet have discussed with Usagi just  
what it was this was all in preparation for. Makoto decided  
that would be fine for now.  
  
"Well, it's still too early to go meet the others, I'll go make  
us some tea," Makoto said, rising to her feet.  
  
"We'd be happy to finish off any leftovers you want to get rid  
of," Usagi suggested.  
  
"Usagi, we just had lunch," Ami reminded her.  
  
Makoto smiled down at them. "I'll see what I can find."  
  
  
  
  
  
Makoto and Usagi emerged from the sauna room with the health  
spa standard issue towels wrapped one each around their bodies  
and their hair. After the sauna, the humid air of the huge room  
with all its various baths seemed almost frigid. They walked  
past the cold tub, where Rei was immersed to her chin, eyes  
closed, motionless. Makoto pointed with her thumb. "Care to  
join her?" she asked in a low voice.  
  
Usagi shook her head vigorously, and then started readjusting  
the towel she had nearly shaken loose from her head. "No thank  
you. The last time I tried that you could hear me scream all  
the way in the men's section, it was embarrassing. The jacuzzi  
is more my style."  
  
"Too decadent. A jacuzzi tries to give you a bath and a  
massage at the same time, like it's in too much of a hurry."  
  
Usagi sighed. "I guess we've settled on the warm tub then."  
  
The warm tub looked like a small shallow swimming pool, with  
water jets gently churning up the water here and there. They  
picked an unoccupied corner and lowered themselves into the  
water. "Aren't Ami and Minako done with their massage yet?"  
Usagi wondered.  
  
"They spent more time at aerobics than we did," Makoto reminded  
her.  
  
"Tell me about it. They were still at it when I was  
practically staggering into the showers."  
  
"I figure Ami's found them a way to run their bodies on cold  
fusion."  
  
"Cold what?"  
  
"It was just a joke, Usagi. Forget it." Usagi pouted, and  
Makoto realized how abrupt she'd been. "I'm sorry, I didn't  
mean to snap at you."  
  
Usagi shook her head. "You didn't. It's just that lately  
you're using a lot of new words I don't understand."  
  
"You shouldn't mind me. I've just been doing a lot of reading  
on new technologies and stuff."  
  
"I know. Mamoru told me about the books you borrowed from  
him." She closed her eyes and recited. "Artificial  
intelligence. Genetic engineering. Nanisomething."  
  
"Nanotechnology," Makoto said, smiling indulgently. "Don't be  
too impressed, I didn't borrow his really technical books, just  
general reading. I just want to get some idea of what our  
future is going to be like."  
  
"Oh I know exactly what it will be like!" Usagi said, stars in  
her eyes. "I'm going to live in a big crystal palace with King  
Endymion and Chibi-usa and all my friends."  
  
"That's a thousand years from now," Makoto said. "Don't you  
ever wonder about what's going to happen between now and then?"  
  
"Sure I do. I wonder about when Mamoru will ask me to marry  
him, when Chibi-usa will be born, when Crystal Tokyo will get  
built. I wonder when Ami will become a doctor and when you will  
become a famous chef."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
Usagi frowned. "All?"  
  
"Don't you wonder about how much the world will change in a  
thousand years? About how much you will change?"  
  
Usagi looked thoughtful for a moment. "Chibi-usa keeps telling  
me that I haven't changed a bit between now and then. And the  
Sailor Mars of the future agrees with her. But even Chibi-usa  
admits that Sailor Mars doesn't make fun of Neo Queen Serenity.   
I guess somewhere between now and then I must get a little bit  
smarter. That would be kind of nice."  
  
Makoto chuckled. "You know what I'm looking forward to? In  
Crystal Tokyo, it looks like the Sailor Senshi don't have to  
hide who they are any more."  
  
Usagi nodded. "I know how much you hate hiding the truth,  
Mako-chan."  
  
Taken aback by Usagi's sudden serious tone, Makoto was at a  
loss for words. "Yeah, I guess it does get on my nerves."  
  
"You know, Mako-chan, if you meet somebody really special,  
somebody you really care for, I think it would be okay for you  
to tell them the truth."  
  
Makoto frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean if there ever is somebody you really, really want to  
share your secret with, our secret, I think you should. Even if  
the others think that it would be a bad idea, I'll back you up."  
  
Makoto marvelled at how Usagi could so innocently cut to the  
bone. Since she had revealed her identity to Jeff - revealed it  
too late to save him - the secrecy in her life had rankled all  
the more. Somehow, Usagi had caught on to that. "Usagi, I... I  
don't know what to say. It's a generous offer. But aren't you  
ever tempted to do the same? I mean, tell your family all about  
who you really are?"  
  
"Oh, I couldn't!" Usagi said. "Can you imagine if Mom found  
out? She'd be worried to death every time I stepped out of the  
house! That is, if she would ever let me out of the house in  
the first place."  
  
Makoto reached out, pulled Usagi close, kissed her on the  
cheek, and released her. "You really are a treasure." She had  
to laugh when Usagi blushed and looked around to see if anyone  
was watching.  
  
"Mako-chan, did I miss something there?"  
  
"No, forget it. Come on, let's go invite Rei over here. If  
she stays any longer in that cold water tub she'll freeze solid,  
and I'm not ready to be putting another friend on ice just yet."  
  
  
  
  
  
The End  
  



End file.
